Biscuit dough

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a dough for producing a biscuit having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least 31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of the biscuit, the dough comprising: cereal flour, fat, sugar and added water; and wherein the added water is in an amount of at most 8 wt % relative to the weight of dough.

The present invention concerns biscuits, including layered and filledcookies. More specifically, the present disclosure concerns the doughsuitable for the production of such biscuits and a method for producingbiscuits from the dough.

Biscuits are conventionally made from refined flours. With an increasingconsumer awareness of the relative health merits of different foods,food products made from wholegrain flours are in increasing demand. Thisis because the nutritional pattern of wholegrain flours is consideredhealthier by consumers than that of refined flours. There is also adesire for food products that deliver long-lasting energy and meet anumber of health criteria.

Biscuits that provide a slow release of carbohydrates and therefore havea long-lasting energy release, are believed to be beneficial forconsumers' health. The starch fraction that is slowly digested (slowlydigestible starch or SDS) is responsible for this long-lasting energyrelease. Products like biscuits comprise a significant amount of slowlydigestible starch before baking. This amount of slowly digestible starchdecreases during the baking process. This is due to the gelatinisationof the SDS during the baking process. The gelatinisation occurs owing tothe presence of water in the dough mixture. Gelatinisation refers to thepartial melting of the crystalline domains of starch, resulting inincreased digestibility. During the heat treatment of moist dough thestarch granules first swell, then progressively loose their crystallinestructure until they burst, resulting in the leaching out of thepolysaccharides contained in the granules (amylose and amylopectin). Inhighly concentrated systems such as biscuit doughs, this sequence ofevent may be limited by the restricted moisture content, but theprogressive melting of the crystalline domains still occurs.

It will be understood in the following that “long-lasting energy” wouldimply that the amount of slowly digestible starch, measured by slowlyavailable glucose (SAG) of the final product using Englyst method(Englyst, 1996), is above 15.0 g/100 g in the final product.

One solution for increasing the slowly digestible starch content is toform a sandwich biscuit and to add native starch to the fillingcomposition. However, the amount of native starch that can be added islimited by the organoleptic properties of the product. Indeed, if thecontent of native starch is too high it will give a disagreeable mouthfeel.

Another solution would be to increase the starch content, the source ofSAG, in the dough composition of the biscuit, but this significantlydecreases the process-ability of the dough and requires an increase inthe required water addition. The negative effect on SAG of increasingthe added water (which increases gelatinisation of the starch) outweighsthe positive effect of adding more starch.

Another issue with biscuits is the content of fat and/or sugar required.Fat and sugar are dough plasticizers. Consequently, it is desirable toinclude such ingredients in the dough to improve the process-ability ofthe dough. However, the addition of these ingredients has an adverseeffect on the nutritional value of the biscuit.

Another solution would be to include polyols or short-chain solublefibres, such as fructooligosaccharides, polydextrose, resistant dextrinsand the like in the dough. Polyols and short-chain soluble fibres mimicsugar behaviour during processing hence improve the process-ability ofthe dough. However, these ingredients can raise gastrointestinaltolerance issues.

For handling the poor process-ability of the dough, water can of coursebe added to the dough. However, water triggers gelatinisation of starchduring the baking of the biscuit and this results in an undesirably lowslowly digestible starch content in the baked biscuit part. Therefore,the long-lasting energy property can be lost.

In US 2007/134,392 a dough is made from 70 wt % wheat flour, 7 wt %butter, 5 wt % fructose with 28% water content. Using this formulation,US 2007/134,392 attempts to obtain a biscuit with a highslowly-digestible-starch content and that can be considered healthy. Astarch product is used in the dough that has been at least partiallygelatinised or at least partially plasticised with a short-chainamylose, resulting in a crystalline structure of the starch product thatis slowly digested by the amylase. However, the biscuit of US2007/134392 fails to fulfil the long-lasting energy criteria.

The use of flakes can improve the SDS content. The starch coming fromthe flakes has less contact with any added water in the dough, and thusgelatinises to a lesser extent than, for example, the starch in a finelyground flour. Consequently, flake starch is a good candidate for helpingmaintain a high value of slowly available starch. Flakes also requireless hydration than flours. However, using too many flakes is not idealfor biscuits since consumers do not expect to see a high flake contentin a biscuit. The texture of these biscuits with too many flakes isoverly chewy and parts of the biscuit remain stuck to the teeth. Inparticular, these biscuits can be denser and have a flaky/sandy texture.

Consequently, there is a need for a dough and a method for using thedough to provide an improved biscuit, tackle at least some of theproblems associated with the prior art, or at least provide acommercially useful alternative thereto.

Accordingly, in a first aspect the present disclosure provides a doughfor producing a biscuit having aslowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt %fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of thebiscuit, the dough comprising:

-   -   cereal flour, fat, sugar and added water;    -   and wherein the added water is in an amount of at most 8 wt %        relative to the weight of dough.

The present disclosure will now be further described. In the followingpassages different aspects of the disclosure are defined in more detail.Each aspect so defined may be combined with any other aspect or aspectsunless clearly indicated to the contrary. In particular, any featureindicated as being preferred or advantageous may be combined with anyother feature or features indicated as being preferred or advantageous.

Doughs are commonly used to make breads and other bakery products. Adough is a mixture made by mixing flour and other ingredients with anamount of water. In a bread dough, for example, the weight of addedwater is about 40% of the weight of the total dough weight. The dough ofthe present disclosure preferably has a low water content and a lowcohesion. That is, the dough preferably does not stretch and insteadfalls apart under an applied force. The dough may, indeed, be consideredas crumbly.

Biscuits are baked, edible, cereal-based products. They typically have alow moisture and a crispy texture. They are typically small, andleavened with baking powder, baking soda, or sometimes yeast. They aretypically sweet. They can contain inclusions and fillings.

The dough disclosed herein is for producing a biscuit having aslowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least31%, preferably at least 35 wt %, more preferably at least 38 wt %,still more preferably at least 40 wt %. The highest ratio willpreferably be at most 80 wt % for digestibility. Total available starchcomprises slowly digestible starch (SDS) and rapidly digestible starch(RDS). The difference between total available starch and total starch isthat total available starch does not comprise resistant starch thatcannot be digested, i.e. that escapes digestion in the small intestine.

It is believed that slowly digestible starch gives a higher healthbenefit than rapidly digestible starch. Indeed, rapidly digestiblestarch is rapidly broken down into glucose during digestion and thusrapidly made available to the body. Therefore, the blood glucose levelrapidly increases. This can trigger insulin delivery leading to somestorage in adipose tissues. Consequently, energy can only be providedfor a shorter time. On the contrary, slowly digestible starch is slowlyassimilated by the body. Consequently, energy can be provided for alonger time.

SDS or slowly available glucose (SAG) can be characterised through theslowly available glucose (SAG) measurement by Englyst method (“RapidlyAvailable Glucose in Foods: an In Vitro Measurement that Reflects theGlycaemic Response”, Englyst et al., Am. J. Clin. Nutr., 1996 (3),69(3), 448-454; “Glycaemic Index of Cereal Products Explained by TheirContent of Rapidly and Slowly Available Glucose”, Englyst et al., Br. J.Nutr., 2003(3), 89(3), 329-340; “Measurement of Rapidly AvailableGlucose (RAG) in Plant Foods: a Potential In Vitro Predictor of theGlycaemic Response”, Englyst et al., Br. J. Nutr., 1996(3), 75(3),327-337). SAG refers to the amount of glucose (from sugar and starch,including maltodextrins) likely to be available for slow absorption inthe human small intestine. In the present case of the disclosure, theSDS content equals the SAG content since there is no other SAG sourcethan starch, i.e. SDS. Rapidly available glucose (RAG) refers to theamount of glucose likely to be available for rapid absorption in thehuman small intestine.

In Englyst method, biscuit samples are prepared by manually and roughlygrinding one or more biscuits. The biscuit samples are then subjected toan enzymatic digestion by incubation in presence of invertase,pancreatic alpha-amylase and amyloglucosidase under standardisedconditions. Parameters such as pH, temperature (37° C.), viscosity andmechanical mixing are adjusted to mimic the gastrointestinal conditions.After an enzymatic digestion time of 20 min, glucose is measured and islabelled RAG. After an enzymatic digestion time of 120 min, glucose isagain measured and is labelled available glucose (AG). SAG is obtainedby subtracting RAG to AG (SAG=AG−RAG), thus, SAG corresponds to theglucose fraction released between the 20^(th) and the 120^(th) minute.Free glucose (FG), including the glucose released from sucrose, isobtained by separate analysis. RDS is then obtained as the subtractionof FG from RAG (RDS=RAG−FG).

Preferably, a ready-to-eat biscuit or sandwich cookie has at least 15 gSAG/100 g. Preferably, the ready-to-eat biscuit or sandwich cookie has aSAG content of at least 16.5 g/100 g, more preferably at least 18.0g/100 g, still more preferably at least 21.0 g/100 g. The highest SAGwill preferably be at most 50.0 g/100 g.

The dough comprises cereal flour, fat, sugars and added water. The doughmay also comprise further ingredients, such as flakes, and these furtheringredients are discussed in detail below.

The dough is used to form a biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cerealflour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the totalweight of the biscuit. The dough used to form such a biscuit willgenerally contain a lower wt % of these components due to the presencein the dough of water which is removed in the final biscuit by thebaking step. Thus, the dough used to form the biscuit will generallyhave at least about 29 wt % cereal flour, about 4 to about 20 wt % fatand at most about 27 wt % sugar.

The dough comprises added water in an amount of at most 8 wt % relativeto the total weight of the dough. That is, the added water forms 8 wt %of the total dough before baking. This water is substantially removedfrom the biscuit during baking. Added water does not include the waterthat is already present in some of the ingredients (such as the about 14wt % of cereal flour that is water). At least some of the water presentin these ingredients is also removed from the biscuit during baking.Hence, the wt % of cereal flour in the dough and in the final biscuit issubstantially the same, due to this loss of moisture. Components withouta moisture content (such as fat) will then form a larger wt % of thebiscuit than of the dough.

The dough comprises at most 8 wt % added water, preferably from 3 to 8wt %, and more preferably from 4 to 7 wt % and most preferably from 5 to6 wt %. As noted above, the term “added water” means water that is addedin addition to the other ingredients. Thus, “added water” does notinclude water contained in any other ingredients such as cereal flour(typically around 10-15 wt %), flakes or bran and germs. For syrups ofsugars, short chain soluble fibres, polyols and the like, the waterpresent in the syrup is considered as part of the added water,

The rheology of a biscuit dough as discussed herein and having a watercontent of from 3 to 8 wt % is quite characteristic. The dough typicallydoes not have a “continuous” structure like a bread/pizza dough, and isinstead more like a collection of disconnected particles. When the doughhas a water content of less than 3 wt % no dough can be formed. At suchlow hydration levels the dough behaves more like a granular material(similar to sand). The dough texture resembles that of shortbread orcrumble dough and exhibits a very limited cohesion. Such doughs are alsomuch harder upon compression than more hydrated doughs. Thus, the doughworkability is diminished and it cannot be processed by rotary moulding.With higher amounts of added water than 8 wt %, the dough machinabilityincreases but the extent of starch hydrolysis on baking is increased andthe SDS decreases.

The dough (and, hence, the final biscuit) comprises cereal flour. Thecereal flour is present in the biscuit in an amount of at least 29 wt %,more preferably at least 30 wt %, more preferably at least 31 wt %.Preferably, the biscuit comprises at most 70 wt % cereal flour, morepreferably at most 60 wt %, still more preferably at most 50 wt %.

The cereal flour may comprise refined cereal flour and/or wholegraincereal flour.

The cereal flour preferably comprises refined cereal flour. The refinedcereal flour is preferably selected from soft wheat flour, wheat flourwith low damaged starch, and thermally treated wheat flour and mixturesthereof. Using these kinds of flour it is possible to limit the starchgelatinisation during baking and increase the SDS in the final product.Indeed, in these flours, starch is less damaged than conventionalrefined wheat flour. As said before, starch gelatinisation enablesstarch to be more easily digestible and thus reducesslowly-digestible-starch content in the final product.

Soft wheat flours and hard wheat flours are both wheat flour typesproduced from Triticum aestivum. Soft wheat flours should not beconfused with flours produced from Triticum aestivum only and hard wheatflours with flours produced from Triticum durum. Terms “soft” and “hard”refer to the hardness of the grains of Triticum aestivum used to makethe flour and not to the species of wheat. Hardness of the grains is dueto density of endosperm cells. Soft wheat endosperm has a lower density,which corresponds to weaker starch and protein bonds. Consequently softwheat grains can be crushed into finer particles than hard wheat grainsand resulting in less damaged starch.

Soft wheat flours may be obtained from the milling of soft wheat, forexample those commercialised under the name Crousty, Alteo, Epson (bothfrom Syngenta) or Arkeos (from Limagrain), etc. The use of softerflours, which absorb less water, allows for the use of a wider range ofadded water than for harder flours. That is, even if up to 10 wt % wateris used, the flour generally absorbs less of the water and the starchcontent is consequently less gelatinised during baking. Moreover, sinceless water is absorbed, there is more free water available to lubricatethe dough and a processable dough can be produced even with a reducedamount of added water (around 3-4 wt %). In one embodiment, when using asoft flour, the dough may comprise up to 10 wt % added water.

Wheat flour with low damaged starch means a flour with a content ofdamaged starch lower than 5.5% of the flour weight. Damaged starchcontent is the percentage of starch granules that are physically damagedduring the milling operation. It is measured by AACC 76-31.01 method

Examples of thermally treated wheat flours are wheat flours treated witha number of heating and cooling cycles or annealed. Annealing is ahydrothermal treatment that changes the physicochemical properties ofstarches by improving crystal growth and by facilitating interactionsbetween starch chains.

The refined wheat flour is preferably made of specifically selectedmilling fractions so that the flour has a very low water absorptionunder 55% as measured by Brabender® Farinograph® according toNF-ISO-5530-1 norm. Preferably, the selected milling fractions have asmall particle size, i.e. the percentage of fine particles under 40 μmis above 50%. Selecting milling fractions can be assisted bygranulometry analysis (by laser granulometry or mesh diameter) duringmilling. The use of these tests is well known in the art of baking anddescribed below.

The cereal flour preferably comprises refined cereal flour, preferablyrefined wheat flour. The refined cereal flour preferably represents atleast 14.5 wt % of the dough and of the biscuit, with a water absorptionunder 55% as measured by Brabender® Farinograph® according toNF-ISO-5530-1 norm, preferably under 52%. More preferably at least 21 wt%, preferably at least 41 wt %, of the dough and biscuit are such arefined cereal flour. Use of this type of flour gives the advantage thatless water is needed to form the dough and thus limits gelatinisation ofstarch. Preferably, the refined cereal flour represents at most 60 wt %,preferably at most 50 wt % of the dough. As a consequence, a healthiercookie is obtained.

The measure by Brabender® Farinograph® is normalised underNF-ISO-5530-1. Water absorption is defined in this norm as the quantityof water per 100 g of flour at 14 wt % water content needed to have adough with a maximal consistency of 500 UF. Consistency is theresistance, expressed in arbitrary units (farinographic units UF), of adough during kneading inside the Farinograph®, at a constant speedspecified in the norm. First, water content of the flour is measured.Then, water is added to the flour, quantity of water being calculated sothat consistency of the dough is close to 500 UF (480 UF to 520 UF).Flour and water are kneaded together and measures are recorded for twodough troughs. From these measures and the volume of water added to theflour to form the dough, water absorption is obtained.

Techniques for measuring water content are well known in the art. Thewater content of the flour, dough and final biscuits can be measuredusing the AAC 44-15.02 International Method (Moisture-air oven methods),revised 1999.

The cereal flour can preferably comprise a wholegrain cereal flour. Useof wholegrain flours makes it more difficult to form processable dough.This is because the wholegrain flours, unlike refined flours, comprisebran and germ in addition to endosperm. Bran and germ contain higheramount of fibers than the endosperm and therefore have a higher waterretention capacity. If the same level of dough hydration is kept, thedough has a more granular consistency and a harder, drier texture, whatmakes it less easy to process. However, the inclusion of wholegraincereal flour is associated with a number of health benefits.

“Wholegrain cereal flour(s)” means flour produced directly or indirectlyfrom cereal whole grains comprising endosperm, bran and germ. Thewholegrain flour can also be preferably reconstituted from separateflours made from endosperm, bran and germ respectively in ratios thatgive the reconstituted wholegrain flour the same composition aswholegrain flour directly produced from grains that still retain branand germ.

“Wholegrain cereal flour” should be distinguished from “refined cerealflour” that means flour made from cereal endosperm only. The cerealflour in the dough preferably comprises wholegrain cereal flour. Thebiscuit preferably comprises at least 29 wt % wholegrain cereal flour,preferably at least 30 wt %, more preferably at least 31 wt %.Preferably, the biscuit comprises at most 70 wt % wholegrain cerealflour, more preferably at most 60 wt %, still more preferably at most 50wt %. When amount of wholegrain cereal flour is over 70 wt %, it becomesvery difficult to process the dough.

The wholegrain cereal flour is preferably selected from wholegrain wheatflour, wholegrain barley flour, wholegrain rye flour, wholegrain speltflour, wholegrain oat flour, wholegrain rice flour, wholegrain maizeflour, wholegrain millet flour, wholegrain sorghum flour, wholegrainteff flour, wholegrain triticale flour, and pseudocereal flour such asamaranth flour and quinoa flour, and mixtures of two or more thereof.Preferably, the wholegrain cereal flour is selected from wholegrainwheat flour, wholegrain barley flour, wholegrain rye flour, wholegrainspelt flour, wholegrain oat flour and mixtures or two or more thereof.More preferably, it is selected from wholegrain wheat flour, wholegrainbarley flour, wholegrain rye flour, wholegrain spelt flour and mixturesof two or more thereof.

Preferably, the wholegrain cereal flour comprises at least two differenttypes of wholegrain cereal flours.

In one embodiment, the wholegrain cereal flour comprises wholegrainwheat flour. The wholegrain wheat flour can be a reconstitutedwholegrain wheat flour obtained from a mixture of refined wheat flour,wheat bran flour and wheat germ flour. Preferably, the refined wheatflour is the same as the refined wheat flour with a water absorptionunder 55% as measured by Brabender® Farinograph® which can be used inthis method. In this latter case, a part of this refined wheat flour isused to reconstitute the wholegrain wheat flour, however this part willbe included in the refined wheat flour content of the dough and, at thesame time, part of the wholegrain cereal flour content. Consequently, itwill be included in the at least 14.5 wt % of the biscuit of refinedwheat flour, preferably at least 29 wt %. Preferably, the otherwholegrain cereal flour(s) are chosen amongst wholegrain barley flour,wholegrain rye flour, wholegrain spelt flour and mixture thereof.

In one preferred embodiment, the wholegrain cereal flour comprises atmost 80 wt % wholegrain wheat flour, preferably at most 60 wt %, morepreferably at most 50 wt % and still more preferably at most 32 wt %,relative to the wholegrain cereal flour content.

In a still preferred embodiment, the wholegrain cereal flour comprisesfour different types of wholegrain cereal flour: wholegrain barleyflour, wholegrain rye flour, wholegrain spelt flour and wholegrain wheatflour.

Preferably, the wholegrain cereal flour is a multicereal flour, i.e. atleast 20 wt % of the wholegrain cereal flour is not wholegrain wheatflour, preferably at least 40 wt %, more preferably at least 50 wt % andstill more preferably at least 68 wt %.

When types of wholegrain cereal flour other than wholegrain wheat flourare used it is even more difficult to obtain a biscuit with the adequateSDS/(SDS+RDS) value over 31 wt % since some types of wholegrain cerealflour, such as rye, barley and spelt contain less SDS than wholegrainwheat flour.

The dough and the biscuit comprise fat. As defined herein “fat” or“fats” means any lipid source, vegetable or animal source that is edibleand can be used to make the layered cookie. Examples of such fat arepalm oil, rapeseed oil, and other vegetable oils, and other vegetableoils, butter from animal source.

The fat is present in an amount of from 5 to 22 wt % by weight of thebiscuit.

Preferably, a ready-to-eat layered cookie obtainable with the doughdisclosed herein has 10 wt % to 25 wt % fat, more preferably 11 wt % to23 wt % fat, even more preferably 12 wt % to 20 wt %, still even morepreferably 15 wt % to 20 wt %. A biscuit or the biscuit part of thelayered cookie preferably contains 5 wt % to 22 wt % fat over the totalweight of the biscuit part, preferably 6 wt % to 20 wt %, morepreferably 7 wt % to 15 wt %.

The biscuit comprises at most 30 wt % sugar. As defined herein, “sugar”or “sugars” means the dry matter of any mono- and disaccharides,whatever the source and also by extension all the dry matter of theglucose syrup, also called glucose-fructose syrup or fructose-glucosesyrup. Among monosaccharides there are fructose, galactose, glucose,mannose and mixtures thereof. Among disaccharides, there is saccharose,but saccharose may be partly or totally replaced with anotherdisaccharide, such as lactose or maltose. Glucose syrup contains monoand disaccharides, but also some longer chains of polymerized dextrose.For the avoidance of doubt, when considering the amount of sugar addedto a mixture in the form of a glucose syrup or other sugar suspension,only the dry weight of sugar should be considered. The water content ofthe syrup or suspension should be considered as part of the added wateras described herein.

The most preferred amount of sugar present in the biscuit recipe (i.e.excluding filling) is at least 12 wt %. This is for both sensory impactand technical reasons. Without wishing to be bound by theory, it isspeculated that below 12 wt % sugars the machinability of the dough isaffected. In general in the dough a continuous phase is formed by theadded water enriched by the soluble ingredients that are able todissolve. Because the sugar is able to dissolve in the water iteffectively increases the effective volume of the water present (1 g ofsugar dissolved in 1 ml of water gives a total volume of 1.6 ml). Hence,the presence of at least 12 wt % sugars decreases the requirement toinclude further added water and, hence, by allowing for less water,increases the SDS value of the final biscuit.

The biscuit may also comprise polyols or short-chain soluble fibres.These act in a similar way to sugars in improving the machinability ofthe dough without increasing the hydrolysis of the starch present in thebiscuits. The use of polyols or short-chain soluble fibres allow for theprovision of a sugar-free or reduced sugar biscuit. Preferably, theingredients comprise less than 20%, preferably less than 10 wt %,preferably less than 5% of polyols or short-chain soluble fibres forgastrointestinal tolerance issues and for clean labelling. Similarly asfor sugars, only the dry weight of polyols or short-chain soluble fibresshould be considered. If a biscuit comprises more than 10 wt % polyolsthen it is considered to have laxative properties and must be labelledaccordingly. Most preferably, the ingredients do not comprise polyols orshort-chain soluble fibres. In one embodiment, the biscuits comprise atleast 0.1 wt % polyols or short-chain soluble fibres. In one embodiment,the ingredients do not comprise guar gum or other viscous soluble fiberssuch as pectins, xanthan gum, psyllium, or glucomannan.

Preferably, a ready-to-eat layered cookie obtainable with the doughdisclosed herein (including filling) comprises 15 wt % to 40 wt % sugar,preferably 18 wt % to 36 wt %, more preferably 20 wt % to 32 wt %, stillmore preferably 25 wt % to 30 wt %, over the total weight of the layeredcookie. The biscuit part (or the biscuit for an unfilled or non-layeredbiscuit) preferably contains 10 wt % to 25 wt % sugar over the totalweight of the biscuit part, preferably 11 wt % to 22 wt %, morepreferably 12 wt % to 20 wt %, even more preferably 12 wt % to 15 wt %.

The biscuit may further comprise from about 19 to about 50 wt % offurther ingredients, including wholegrain cereal flakes, non-refined,non-wholegrain flour and additional ingredients, such as, emulsifiers,leavening agents, vitamins, minerals, salt, flavourings and milk ordairy ingredients, and combinations thereof. These additionalingredients are discussed in more detail below.

The biscuit may further comprise at most 34.5 wt % wholegrain cerealflakes, preferably at most 19 wt %, preferably at most 16 wt %, morepreferably at most 11 wt %, still more preferably at most 9 wt %, forexample wholegrain oat flakes or malted wholegrain rye flakes. An excessof flakes, i.e. over 19 wt %, will give the biscuit an unexpectedappearance, i.e. the appearance of a granola biscuit and a denserproduct that can discourage potential consumers. When flakes arepresent, preferably they comprise at least about 0.9 wt % of thebiscuit, since lesser amounts may not be discernable in the finalproduct.

More generally, the biscuit part of the ready-to-eat layered cookie maycomprise visible pieces of cereal whole grains. The preferred flakes areoat flakes and malted rye flakes due to the sensory impact on consumers.This also helps to increase the wholegrain content of the dough recipewithout compromising on the palatability of the final biscuits. The mostpreferred flakes are baby oat flakes since their appearance isadvantageous for the consumer and they contribute additional SDS to thebiscuit that is less readily hydrolysed during baking. They remain moreintact than large flakes during processing.

By way of example, some ranges of the content of different flakes areset out in the table below:

Minimum % Maximum % Ingredient type in biscuit formula in biscuitformula Wheat flakes 0.9 9 Malted rye flakes 0.9 19 Baby oat flakes 3 18Oat flakes 3 9 Barley flakes 0.9 3

The biscuit part of the ready-to-eat layered cookie can still compriseadditional cereal bran and/or cereal germ. In case there are additionalcereal bran and cereal germ, the bran and the germ come from differentcereals chosen amongst: wheat, barley, rye, spelt, oat or a mixturethereof.

The dough and the biscuit may include other ingredients. Otheringredients that can be mixed with the cereal flour and water forforming the dough are: emulsifier, leavening agents. Emulsifier can besoybean lecithin, diacetyl tartaric ester of monoglyceride, sodiumstearoyl lactylate. Leavening agent can be ammonium bicarbonate, sodiumbicarbonate, sodium pyrophosphate acid or a mixture thereof. Otheringredients can also be vitamins or minerals such as vitamin B1,vitamin, vitamin PP, iron and magnesium and a mixture thereof.

Still other dry ingredients can be salt, flavouring agents, cocoapowder, solid pieces, milk and dairy derivatives, honey and calciumsupplementation.

Flavouring agent can be in powder form or liquid form.

Solid pieces may be chocolate drops, fruit pieces, nuts like hazelnut(preferably hazelnut pieces), extruded cereal, etc. Solid pieces do notinclude cereal flakes. Solid pieces bring texture and flavour withoutincreasing SAG content. The biscuit preferably comprises 2 wt % to 15 wt% solid pieces, preferably 4 wt % to 10 wt %.

Chocolate drops are pieces of solid chocolate. “Chocolate” is understoodas meaning either “dark chocolate”, “milk chocolate” or “whitechocolate”. Preferably, chocolate drops are dark chocolate piecescontaining at least 35 wt % of cocoa liquor (US legislation), morepreferably 35 wt % of cocoa solids (European Union legislation), stillmore preferably at least 40 wt %.

Within the scope of the disclosure, “fruit pieces” means pieces of anysweet, edible part of a plant that resembles fruit, for example raisin,fig, prune, orange, cranberry, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry,apricot, blackcurrant, redcurrant, peach, pear, kiwi, banana, apple,lemon, pineapple, tomato. These pieces of fruit are either dried orprocessed. This wording does not include nuts.

Preferably the dough has a prebaking density of from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³,preferably from 1.1 to 1.4 g/cm³ and more preferably from 1.2 to 1.3g/cm³. That is, the combination of ingredients is such that when pressedinto the form of a desired pre-baking biscuit shape, the dough shouldhave a density of from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³. This density provides cohesionto the dough that leads to a final product with a desirable texture andstrength. When the density of the dough is lower, the texture of thebiscuit is softer and the biscuit is less able to form a cohesivestructure and is more prone to damage in transit. When the density ofthe dough is higher, such as from 1.3 to 1.5 g/cm³, it is possible toemploy less fat in the dough and still obtain a coherent biscuit.However, as the density of the biscuit increases, it may be overly hardand less desirable to the consumer. The dough density before moulding istypically about 0.7 g/cm³.

The compression can be quantified by calculating the density, i.e. themass per unit volume, of the dough in the rotary mould. This is done bydividing the weight of a dough piece (straight after rotary moulding) bythe volume of the rotary mould. The density of dough after compressionin the rotary mould is preferably between 1.2 and 1.3 g/cm³.

The dough preferably has a particle size distribution such that at least20%, preferably 30%, preferably 50%, more preferably 70 wt % of thedough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 10 mm. The doughpreferably has a particle size distribution such that at least 8 wt %,preferably at least 10 wt % and more preferably at least 15 wt % of thedough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 2 mm. The particle sizedistribution can preferably be determined using five graded sieveshaving meshes of 10, 8, 6.3, 4 and 2 mm, wherein the sieves are vibratedwith a sieve acceleration of 1.5 mm/“g” for a duration of 3 minutes. Asuitable machine for performing the sieving is a Vibratory Sieve ShakerAS 200 Control (RETSCH, Germany) and the various test parameters andunits are well known in the art. A sample size for performing theanalysis is preferably 800 g. The value “g” is the standard gravityconstant (g=9.81 m.s⁻²).

It is also preferred that the dough has a particle size distributionsuch that the D10 of the dough mass distribution is at most 6 mm,preferably at most 3 mm. This is measured by calculating the cumulatedparticle size distribution against the mesh size and taking the meshsize value that corresponds to 90% of the dough distribution.

Preferably the dough requires a pressure of at least 5000 kg/m² to becompressed to a density of 1.22 g/cm³. More preferably the pressurerequired to compress the dough to a density of 1.22 g/cm³ is from 6500to 30000 kg/m², more preferably from 7500 to 15000 kg/m². The pressurerequired to compress the dough is preferably measured using acylindrical pot having a diameter of 5.2 cm, wherein 100 g of dough isintroduced into the pot and the dough is compressed into the pot by acircular plate having a diameter of 5 cm and connected to a force-meter,and wherein the circular plate advances at a rate of 0.7 mm/s, whereinthe force required to achieve a calculated density of 1.22 g/cm³ isrecorded. The force is then converted into a pressure value by dividingby the surface of the plate.

The dough may be used to provide a layered cookie. Within the scope ofthe disclosure, “layered cookie” will be understood as a cookie made ofalternating and successive layers of biscuits and filling. The simplestlayered cookie is a cookie 4 with a single base biscuit 41 on top ofwhich a filling 43 is deposited as illustrated in FIG. 4. Another typeof layered cookie is sandwich cookie 5 which comprises a layer offilling 53 between two layers of biscuits 51, 52 as illustrated in FIG.5.

For a filled or layered biscuit there will be a filling part. Thefilling part is a filling having a consistency that ranges, aftercooling, from viscous (for a jam) to a solid (for an anhydrous fatfilling). The filling can be water based or fat based.

Preferably, at 40° C., the filling has a Casson viscosity between 0.5Pa·s and 500 Pa·s and a yield stress between 0.1 Pa and 1000 Pa. TheCasson yield stress and viscosity can be measured according to the IOCCC10/1973:2000 method. This relies on the use of a high performancerheometer MCR300 (Anton Paar Physica) interfaced with a PC and equippedwith a coaxial measuring unit (TEZ 150-PC) and a coaxial cylindermeasurement system (CC27).

Preferably, the filling part contributes to 10 wt % to 40 wt % of thelayered cookie, preferably to 15 wt % to 32 wt %, more preferably 25 wt% to 30 wt %.

The filling part may comprise at least one of the following ingredients:fat sugar, water, starch, emulsifier, milk and dairy derivates,flavouring agents, fruit powder, fruit pieces, cocoa powder, chocolatedrops, and seeds. Emulsifier can be at least one of the following: soyalecithin, diacetyl tartaric ester of monoglyceride, sodium stearyllactylate.

When the filling part comprises non gelatinised added starch, nongelatinised added starch constitutes between 2.0 wt % to 40.0 wt % ofthe filling part, preferably between 7.0 to 22.0 wt % of the fillingpart.

Milk and dairy derivates can be whey powder, yoghurt powder (with livingferments), fresh milk, milk powder, sweet whey powder, milk proteins,and whey proteins.

Flavouring agent may be in a solid or liquid form.

Fruit powder is desiccated fruits that are pulverised such asstrawberry, raspberry, raisin, fig, prune, orange, cranberry, blueberry,apricot, blackcurrant, redcurrant, peach, pear, kiwi, banana, apple,lemon, pineapple, tomato.

A healthy layered cookie comprises sugar that makes up to at most 27.5%of the total caloric value of the final product, fat that makes up to atmost 38.0% of the total caloric value of the final product and availablecarbohydrate at least 55.0% of the total caloric value of the finalproduct.

Due to the water loss of water naturally present in cereal flours onbaking, the wt % values for the cereal content of the dough aresubstantially the same as the wt % values for the final biscuit. Themoisture content of flours is typically 14 wt %, 10% for the bran-germsand 11% for the oat flakes.

According to a second aspect there is provided a method for forming abiscuit having a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starchratio of at least 31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cerealflour, 5 to 22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the totalweight of the biscuit, the method comprising:

-   -   providing the dough as described herein;    -   moulding the dough into the shape of the biscuit; and    -   baking the biscuit.

Preferably the method comprises:

-   -   mixing E1′ a cereal flour, fat, sugar and remaining ingredients        with at most 8 wt % added water over the total weight of the        dough for forming a dough 2;    -   moulding E3′ the dough 2 to shape the biscuits 3 of the biscuit        part, wherein the moulding is preferably rotary moulding;    -   baking E5′ the biscuits of the biscuit part;    -   Optionally forming E7′-E8′ a layered cookie from at least one        biscuit and a filling.

The moulding preferably compresses the dough to a pre-baking density offrom 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³ as discussed herein.

Rotary moulding is the preferred technique for forming the biscuitsbecause in principle there is no other technology that allows compliancewith the criteria on slowly digestible starch. This is because othertechniques cannot cope with such poorly hydrated doughs. It isspeculated that the high pressure applied by the rotary moulding systempermits the use of there dry and crumbly doughs. Moreover, by applyingpressure, capillary bridges may form between the dough pieces,transforming the loosely connected particles into a cohesive althoughfragile pre-baking biscuit.

In principle, however, the forming step could be performed by passingthe dough pieces through a so-called sheeter (compression cylinder) toproduce a continuous layer of dough (thickness between 3 and 20 mm,preferably between 5 and 12 mm), then cutting the dough layer intosmaller pieces of square or rectangular shape (the latter being similarin aspect to granola bars) that are then baked.

Mixing is preferably carried out in a horizontal mixer with doublejacket. Mixing phases are adjusted so that water content is controlled.Preferably, the temperature of the dough is 15° C. to 35° C., morepeferably 15° C. to 30° C. during mixing.

The present inventors have found that there is a particularly preferredorder of mixing the ingredients that permits the use of doughs with evenlower hydration levels.

The last ingredient to be added, if present, are flakes. These are addedat the end of the process to reduce the risk of damaging the flakes andhaving a detrimental effect on their appearance. Furthermore, if theflakes are damaged then there is an increased risk of hydrolysing moreof the flake starch content which would reduce the SAG of the biscuit asa whole.

In a flake-free composition the final ingredient to be added is flour orflours. When flakes are present, preferably the flour or flours is thepenultimate ingredient added. By minimising the time that the flour ispresent in the mixture it has been found that the amount of waterabsorbed by the flour can be minimised. This has been found to reducethe amount of water that needs to be added to the mixture. This reducesthe amount of water present to hydrolyse the starch and, as a result,the amount of SDS increases in the final product.

That is, the dough is preferably mixed in a multi-step process. In afirst step, the ingredients, excluding the added water, cereal flour andwholegrain cereal flakes, if present, are mixed together. Then the addedwater is added, then the cereal flour is added, then the wholegraincereal flakes, if present, are added.

By way of an example, in a first step, ingredients such as fat, cocoapowder, sugars, flavours, lecithin, salt, vitamins and sodiumbicarbonate are blended together. In a second step, once the firstmixture is thoroughly blended, the added water is introduced, togetherwith an amount of ammonium bicarbonate. In a third step, flours andsodium pyrophosphate are added to the mixture. Finally flakes are added.The mixture is then moulded and formed into a biscuit as describedherein.

With conventional rotary moulding apparatuses, it is difficult andsometime not possible to process such a granular dough. Therefore, a newspecific rotary moulder was designed for the rotary moulding step.

This specific rotary moulder 1 (as illustrated in FIG. 3) comprises:

-   -   a moulding cylinder 11 and a grooved cylinder 12 for shaping the        dough 2 into the biscuit 3; and, optionally    -   a hopper 13 playing the role of a funnel to help feed the        moulding and grooved cylinders 11, 12; and/or    -   a demoulding belt 14 for demoulding the biscuit 3.

The moulding cylinder 11 has mould cavities for receiving the dough 2.The mould cavities will give the dough 2 the shape of the biscuits 3 ofthe biscuit part. The grooved cylinder 12 preferably comprises groovesof 5 to 15 mm, preferably 10 mm±50% to allow sufficient stickiness ofthe dough without crushing solid pieces like flakes, and duringoperation presses the dough 2 that is received inside the mould cavitiesof the moulding cylinder 11 so that the dough completely filled themould cavities and take the shape thereof. The grooved cylinder 12 ispreferably mounted on a horizontal axis and can be adjusted thereon tovary the compression force applied to the dough 2. High compressionshould be used since the dough 2 lacks continuity, thus, cohesive doughpieces would be demouldable and transferrable from the demoulding belt14 to the oven belt that drives the uncooked biscuit 3 into the oven forbaking.

The difference of speed between the grooved cylinder 12 and the mouldingcylinder 11 is preferably maintained less than 10% so that the formationof the biscuit 3 is not impaired. Indeed, a higher differential betweenboth rotation speed of the moulding cylinder 11 and the grooved cylinder12 will induce a shear stress on the dough 2 that will not be able to bepressed onto the mould cavities but will rather be spread and lesspacked between the circumferential faces of the moulding cylinder 11 andthe grooved cylinder 12.

The level of dough 2 in the hopper 13 can be preferably controlled sothat it is minimal and that the moulding and grooved cylinders 11, 12are nearly visible. The aim is to prevent the dough 2 from compactingand thus, ensure regular feeding of the moulding cylinder 11 along thewidth of the demoulding belt 14. The dough 2 has to be the least packedas possible.

A cutter 15, with its tip 151 under the axis line AA of the moulding andgrooved cylinders 11, 12, preferably cuts the dough 2 at the top of themould cavities. The cutter 15 determines the quantity of dough 2 toremain inside the mould cavities, and makes it possible to adjust theweight of the dough pieces therein. Each dough piece forming an uncookedbiscuit preferably weighs 0.5 gram to 40 grams, more preferably 1 gramto 35 grams, still more preferably 1 gram to 30 grams.

The demoulding belt 14, preferably made from cotton and/or polyamide,has weft with suitable dimension for extracting dough pieces drier thanconventional dough, i.e. granular dough. The demoulding belt 14 ismounted on at least two cylinders 16, 17, one of which, generally arubber cylinder 16, presses the moulding cylinder 11. Upon pressure ofthe rubber cylinder 16 onto the moulding cylinder 11, the dough pieceslying inside the mould cavities adhere to the demoulding belt 14 and aretransported towards the oven for baking.

The rotary moulder 1 may further comprise a humidifier 18 for thedemoulding belt 14, for example the humidifier 18 is a steaming deviceor a water-spraying device.

Resting time of the resting step E2′ should be limited to avoid highdryness of the dough 2, which would require to further add water andthus would impede SAG content by triggering starch gelatinisation.

Before baking E5′, the biscuits 3 can be glazed so that they gain ashiny appearance. Therefore, the method can comprise an optionaladditional step of glazing E4′ the shaped biscuit 3. The biscuit 3 canbe glazed with an aqueous glazing, preferably comprising milk powderand/or icing sugar and/or buffering agent such as sodium bicarbonate,sodium hydroxide. Preferably, the glazing comprises skimmed milk powder.Still preferably, the glazing comprises starchy icing sugar, i.e.sucrose natural sweetener characterised by its fine granulometryobtained by milling crystal sugar and added with starch as ananti-agglomerating agent.

Baking E5′ is preferably carried out until the moisture content of thebaked biscuit 3 (final product) is 0.5 wt % to 5.0 wt %, for example bygentle baking (i.e. baking temperature is below 110° C. inside thebiscuit durhg the first third time of the baking—if baking time is 6min, during 2 min—and preferably below 100° C.).

The baking conditions are preferably mild to minimise the gelatinisationof the starch and to maintain the highest possible SDS in the biscuit.Preferably the conditions in the baking step are especially mild at thebeginning of the baking process while the heat dehydrates the biscuit.By using a low heat during this step the gelatinisation of the starch isminimised. Once the water in the biscuit has been reduced it is possibleto use higher temperatures without significant gelatinisation.Preferably the baking is conducted so that the temperature of thebiscuit is less than 110° C., preferably less than 100° C., andpreferably at least 90° C., for the first two minutes of the time ofbaking. Preferably this temperature is maintained for the first twominutes or the first third of the baking time, whichever is longer. Thetime of baking is preferably less than 12 minutes, preferably from 4 to8 minutes and most preferably from 6 to 8 minutes.

After baking, the baked biscuits are cooled down E6′ on an open belt,i.e. a belt that is not covered, a cooling tunnel is preferably not usedbecause there is a too big temperature differential between the inputand the output, what causes checking (failure) on the biscuit 3. Then,the filling is deposited E7′ on one biscuit (on the base biscuit for afilling-over-biscuit cookie or on one biscuit out of two for a sandwichcookie).

The water content of the final biscuit is preferably less than 3 wt %and preferably between 1 and 2 wt % of the final biscuit followingbaking.

The low water content helps to provide a long-term shelf stable product.For example, the present biscuits and sandwich-biscuits may be kept at20-25° C. for up to one year while remaining edible. Shelf-life studiesbased on sensory expert panel evaluation have been conducted. It wasfound that the full sensory profile was maintained for up to 7 months toone year depending on the ingredients. Nevertheless, the edibility ofthe biscuits extended at least up to the one year mark.

In case the layered cookie is a sandwich cookie, then the sandwichcookie is made by assembling E8′ the second biscuit on the top of thefilling.

The layered cookie is cooled-down by forced-air in a cooling tunnel E9′.The layered cookies are then packaged E10′, for example layered cookiesare packaged into wrappers containing 50 g of layered cookies and thewrappers are gathered in a packet that is designed to contain 5 or 6wrappers. Preferably, the layered cookies can be packaged in wrappers sothat one wrapper contains one serving, for example two sandwich cookies.

The disclosure also concerns a ready-to-eat layered cookie obtainable bythe method described above. Preferably, the layered cookie furthercomprises at least 18 wt % total starch over the total weight of thelayered cookie.

The disclosure will now be described in relation to the figures,provided by way of non-limiting example, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the different steps of a method forforming a biscuit;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the different steps of a method forforming a layered cookie;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a rotary moulder. The largearrow indicates the direction to the oven;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of a filling-over-biscuit cookie;and

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a sandwich cookie.

As a key to FIG. 1:

E1: Mixing the ingredients

E2: Resting the dough

E3: Rotary moulding the dough into biscuits

E4: Glazing the biscuits

E5: Baking the biscuits

E6: Cooling the biscuits

E7: Packaging the biscuits

As a key to FIG. 2:

E1′: Mixing the ingredients into a dough

E2′: Resting the dough

E3′: Rotary moulding the dough into biscuits

E4′: Glazing the biscuits

E5′: Baking the biscuits

E6′: Cooling the biscuits

E7′: Depositing filing on one biscuit

E8′: Assembling the layered cookie

E9′: Cooling the layered cookie

E10′: Packaging the layered cookie

The disclosure will now be described in relation to the followingnon-limiting examples.

EXAMPLES OF BISCUITS Example 1

A plain Cocoa biscuit was prepared. The biscuit has the followingcomposition (in percentage of the final biscuit):

dough ingredients 115.41 wt % glazing ingredients  1.69 wt % waterremoval −17.10 wt % total   100 wt %

More particularly, biscuits are produced from dough formed with thefollowing recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 29.429.2 Wheat bran and germ 3.0 3.1 Whole grain spelt flour 0.91 0.90 Wholegrain rye flour 2.9 2.9 Whole grain barley flour 5.6 5.5 Whole grain oatflakes 7.7 7.8 SUGARS 16.5 19.0 FAT 10.2 11.8 ADDED WATER 7.6 2.0 Cocoapowder 3.0 3.3 Chocolat drop 11.3 13.0 Flavouring powder 0.27 0.31Emulsifier 0.33 0.38 Salt 0.25 0.29 Leavening agents 0.80 0.18 Vitaminand mineral lend 0.16 0.18 Total 100.0 100.0 Relative total wt % afterbaking 86.8

(amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

The water absorption measured by Brabender® Farinograph® of the refinedwheat flour is 52%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough is restedfor 30 minutes. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of therotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that themoulding and grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible.The speed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is keptbelow 10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises(in weight percentage of the final biscuit):

water  1.48 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.169 wt % starchy icing sugar0.0425 wt %. 

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C. atall times. At the end of baking the water content is about 2.0 wt %.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts until the temperature of the biscuits is below 30° C.for packing.

The biscuit comprises 57.15 wt % cereal ingredients, more in particular31.19 wt % wholegrain cereal flour representing 64.55% of the totalcereal flour. The biscuit has 17.1 wt % fat and 27.1 wt % sugar. Fatrepresents 35% of the total caloric value of the biscuit, whilecarbohydrate represents 58% and more precisely, sugar represents 24%.The biscuit has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 40.75% and 16.3 g SAG/100 gbiscuit. The biscuit has a starch content of 36.5 wt %.

Example 2

The biscuit has the following composition (in percentage of the finalbiscuit):

dough ingredients 112.46 wt % glazing ingredients  1.69 wt % waterremoval −14.15 wt % total   100 wt %

More particularly, biscuits are produced from dough formed with thefollowing recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 32.331.1 Wheat bran and germ 3.1 3.1 Whole grain spelt flour 0.89 0.86 Wholegrain rye flour 3.1 3.0 Whole grain barley flour 4.4 4.2 Whole grain oatflakes 9.5 9.5 SUGARS 16.6 18.6 FAT 12.2 13.6 ADDED WATER 4.5 1.5 Honey(dry) 4.5 4.9 Chocolate drop 7.7 8.6 Flavouring powder 0.29 0.32Emulsifier 0.15 0.17 Salt 0.26 0.29 Leavening agents 0.44 0.10 Vitaminand mineral lend 0.15 0.17 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % afterbaking 89.3

(amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough).

The water absorption value measured by Brabender® Farinograph® of therefined wheat flour is 53%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotarymoulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the mouldingand grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. Thespeed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (inweight percentage of the final biscuit):

water  1.47 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.170 wt % starchy icing sugar 0.040 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1.5 wt %.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts until the temperature of the biscuits is below 30° C.for packing.

The biscuit comprises 56.4 wt % cereal ingredients, more in particular29.66 wt % wholegrain cereal flour representing 60.34% of the totalcereal flour. The biscuit has 17.24 wt % fat and 24.56 wt % sugar. Fatrepresents 34% of the total caloric value of the biscuit, whilecarbohydrate represents 60% and more precisely, sugar represents 22%.The biscuit has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 44.18% and 18.6 g SAG/100 gbiscuit. The biscuit has a starch content of 38.1 wt %.

EXAMPLES OF SANDWICH COOKIES Example 1

A sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of thefinal cookie):

dough ingredients 87.12 wt % glazing ingredients  3.02 wt % fillingingredients 28.00 wt % water removal −18.14 wt %  total   100 wt %

More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced fromdough formed with the following recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Refined soft wheat flour 48.749.4 sugar 16.0 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.6 3.7spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.4 2.6 oat flakes 10.5 11.0 FAT 10.111.9 ADDED WATER 6.8 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.33 0.39 Emulsifier 0.120.14 Salt 0.21 0.25 Leavening agents 0.74 0.17 Vitamin and mineral lend0.50 0.59 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 84.8

(Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

The refined soft wheat flour used in example 1 has a water absorptionvalue as measured with Brabender® Farinograph® of 53-54%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotarymoulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the mouldingand grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. Thespeed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (inweight percentage of the final biscuit):

water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07wt % total  3.02 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33° C.the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies.The filling has the following composition:

sugar 14.26 wt %  wheat starch 1.93 wt % emulsifier 0.08 wt % flavouringagent 0.04 wt % cocoa powder 4.31 wt % fat 7.38 wt % total 28.00 wt %. 

The sandwich cookie has 18.08 wt % fat and 26.5 wt % sugar. Fatrepresents 35.7% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie,while carbohydrate represents 57% and more precisely, sugar represents23%. The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 39.95% and 16.5 gSAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

Comparative Example 1

The sandwich cookie for the comparative example 1 has the followingcomposition (in percentage of the final cookie):

dough ingredients 87.30 wt % glazing ingredients  3.02 wt % fillingingredients 28.00 wt % water removal −18.32 wt %  total   100 wt %

More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced fromdough formed with the following recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit Wheat flour 47.5 49.7 sugar15.5 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.5 3.7 spelt) wheatbran and wheat germ 2.1 2.3 oat flakes 10.2 11.0 FAT 9.8 11.9 ADDEDWATER 9.7 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.32 0.39 Emulsifier 0.12 0.15 Salt 0.180.22 Leavening agents 0.72 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.48 0.58 Total100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 82.1

(Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

The amount of the various ingredients is actually the same as in example1, only more water is added into the dough, thus changing the percentagefor all ingredients. Another difference is the use of refined wheatflour in example 1, whereas in the comparative example 1, conventionalsoft wheat flour is used.

This soft wheat flour has a water absorption value as measured withBrabender® Farinograph® of 58-59%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of an ordinaryrotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The speed differential of themoulding and grooved cylinder is kept below 10%. The biscuits are thenglazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the finalbiscuit):

water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07wt % total  3.02 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33° C.the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies.The filling has the following composition:

sugar 14.26 wt %  wheat starch 1.93 wt % emulsifier 0.08 wt % flavouringagent 0.04 wt % cocoa powder 4.31 wt % fat 7.38 wt % total 28.00 wt %. 

This sandwich cookie has 29.7% SDS/(RDS+SDS) and 12.5 g/100 g sandwichcookie of SAG. Thus, SAG content for this sandwich cookie is much lessthan 15 g/100 g sandwich cookie. This shows that the change in doughrecipe and in use of a different rotary moulder result in sandwichcookies with better SAG content.

Also, use of refined wheat flour in example 1 enables diminution ofadded water content in the dough down to less than 8 wt % of the dough.It is believed that this makes it possible to better protect the starchfrom gelatinisation and therefore preserve a high amount of SDS.

Example 2

The sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of thefinal cookie):

dough ingredients 87.60 wt % glazing ingredients  3.01 wt % fillingingredients 28.00 wt % water removal −18.62 wt %  total   100 wt %

More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced fromdough formed with the following recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit refined soft wheat flour 48.749.6 sugar 15.9 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.6 3.6spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.4 2.6 oat flakes 10.4 11.0 FAT 10.111.9 ADDED WATER 7.2 1.0 Flavouring powder 0.33 0.39 Emulsifier 0.120.14 Salt 0.21 0.25 Leavening agents 0.76 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend0.37 0.44 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % after baking 84.4

(Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

The refined soft wheat flour used in example 2 has a water absorptionvalue as measured with Brabender® Farinograph® of 53-54%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotarymoulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the mouldingand grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. Thespeed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (inweight percentage of the final biscuit):

water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07wt % total  3.01 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33° C.the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies.The filling has the following composition:

dairy derivatives (whey, yoghurt) 4.48 wt % wheat starch 5.60 wt % sugar10.07 wt %  emulsifier 0.07 wt % flavouring agent (yoghurt) 0.06 wt %acidifying agent 0.02 wt % fat 7.70 wt % total 28.00 wt %. 

The sandwich cookie has 17.62 wt % fat and 28.3 wt % sugar. Fatrepresents 34.8% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie,while carbohydrate represents 59% and more precisely, sugar represents25%. The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 43.38% and 19 gSAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

Comparative Example 2

The sandwich cookie for the comparative example 1 has the followingcomposition (in percentage of the final cookie):

dough ingredients 87.80 wt % glazing ingredients  3.01 wt % fillingingredients 28.00 wt % water removal −18.81 wt %  total   100 wt %

More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced fromdough formed with the following recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit wheat flour 46.8 49.4 sugar15.4 18.9 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 3.5 3.6 spelt) wheatbran and wheat germ 2.3 2.6 oat flakes 10.1 11.0 FAT (vegetable fat) 9.711.9 ADDED WATER 10.2 1.0 Flavouring powder (yoghurt) 0.31 0.38Emulsifier 0.12 0.15 Salt 0.20 0.25 Leavening agents 1.02 0.25 Vitaminand mineral lend 0.36 0.44 Total 100.00 100.00 Relative total wt % afterbaking 81.8

(Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough.)

The amount of the various ingredients is actually the same as in example2, only more water is added into the dough, thus changing the percentagefor all ingredients. Another difference is the use of refined wheatflour in example 2, whereas in the comparative example 2, conventionalsoft wheat flour is used. This soft wheat flour has a water absorptionvalue as measured with Brabender® Farinograph® of 58-59%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of an ordinaryrotary moulder for forming the biscuits. The speed differential of themoulding and grooved cylinders is kept below 10%. The biscuits are thenglazed with a glazing that comprises (in weight percentage of the finalbiscuit):

water 2.68 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.27 wt % refined sugar powder 0.07wt % total  3.01 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 6min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1%.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts. Once the temperature of the biscuits is below 33° C.the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwich cookies.The filling has the following composition:

dairy derivatives (whey, yoghurt) 4.48 wt % wheat starch 5.60 wt % sugar10.07 wt %  emulsifier 0.07 wt % flavouring agent (yoghurt) 0.06 wt %acidifying agent 0.02 wt % fat 7.70 wt % total 28.00 wt %. 

This sandwich cookie has 28.5% SDS/(RDS+SDS) and 12.3 g/100 g sandwichcookie of SAG. Thus, SAG content for this sandwich cookie is much lessthan 15 g/100 g sandwich cookie. This shows again that the change indough recipe and in use of a different rotary moulder result in sandwichcookies with better SAG content.

Also, use of refined wheat flour in example 1 enables diminution ofadded water content in the dough down to less than 8 wt % of the dough.It is believed that this makes it possible to better protect the starchfrom gelatinisation and therefore preserve a high amount of SDS.

Example 3

The sandwich cookie has the following composition (in percentage of thefinal cookie):

dough ingredients 90.39 wt % glazing ingredients  1.90 wt % fillingingredients 27.00 wt % water removal −19.29 wt %  total   100 wt %

More particularly, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie are produced fromdough formed with the following recipes:

Ingredient Wt % in dough Wt % in Biscuit refined soft wheat flour 49.550.9 sugar 13.9 16.7 wholegrain cereal flour (rye, barley, 5.8 5.9spelt) wheat bran and wheat germ 2.0 2.2 oat flakes 7.8 8.3 FAT(vegetable fat) 11.0 13.2 ADDED WATER 7.8 1.1 Flavouring powder(yoghurt) 0.23 0.27 Emulsifier 0.29 0.35 Salt 0.20 0.24 Leavening agents0.75 0.18 Vitamin and mineral lend 0.55 0.66 Total 100.00 100.00Relative total wt % after baking 83.7

(Amounts are expressed in percentage with respect to the weight of,respectively, final biscuit and unbaked dough)

The water absorption value measured by Brabender® Farinograph® of therefined wheat flour is 53-54%.

The ingredients of the dough are mixed together in a horizontal mixeruntil the dough gets a homogenised consistency. Then the dough isrested. After resting, the dough is fed into the hopper of the rotarymoulder for forming the biscuits. The dough is fed so that the mouldingand grooved cylinders of the rotary moulder are nearly visible. Thespeed differential of the moulding and grooved cylinder is kept below10%. The biscuits are then glazed with a glazing that comprises (inweight percentage of the final biscuit):

water 1.69 wt % skimmed milk powder 0.17 wt % refined sugar powder 0.04wt % total  1.90 wt %.

After glazing the biscuits are driven to the oven for baking for about 7min. During baking the temperature of the dough remains under 160° C.and the water content decreases until it reaches 1.1%.

When the biscuits are taken out from the oven, they are allowed to cooldown on open belts. Since the temperature of the biscuits is below 33°C. the biscuits are then assembled with a filling to form sandwichcookies. The filling has the following composition:

sugar 16.47 wt %  moisturising agent 6.75 wt % vegetable fat 1.62 wt %fruit concentrate 1.35 wt % gums 0.27 wt % acidity regulator 0.38 wt %emulsifier 0.11 wt % flavouring agent (mixed berry) 0.05 wt % total27.00 wt %. 

The sandwich cookie has 12.05 wt % fat and 29.3 wt % sugar. Fatrepresents 26% of the total caloric value of the sandwich cookie, whilecarbohydrate represents 68% and more precisely, sugar represents 27.7%.The sandwich cookie has a SDS/(RDS+SDS) ratio of 35.07% and 15.5 gSAG/100 g sandwich cookie.

Dough Properties

The density of the dough in the moulds used to form the biscuits wasquantified by calculating the density, i.e. the mass per unit volume, ofthe dough in the rotary mould. This is done by dividing the weight of adough piece (straight after rotary molding) by the volume of the rotarymould.

Die volume (cm3) Dough weight (g) Density (g/cm3) Plain Biscuit 11.32414.5 1.280 Sandwich 8.56 11.0 1.285 Biscuit

The density values of further samples were measured and ranged from 1.20to 1.29 g/ml.

The dough properties of the samples were also subjected to compressiontesting and sieving testing according to the test methods describedherein. In particular, the pressure required to achieve a density of1.22 g/cm³ was measured and the particle size distributions wereobserved.

Rheology Sieving Rest Temp Force Pressure % D10 Dough time (° C.) (kg)(kg/m²) <10 mm (mm) Biscuit Ex 1 0 h 30   30° C. 12.97 6625 63% 1.25Biscuit Ex 1 2 h 30   30° C. 19.1 9728 84% 0.95 Biscuit Ex 1 2 h 30  20° C. 29.3 14922 78% 0.95 Biscuit Ex 2 0 h 30 24.5° C. 10.8 5500 29%5.25 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 30 24.5° C. 12.8 6519 25% 4.50 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 3024.5° C. 11.8 6010 Biscuit Ex 2 2 h 20 24.5° C. 13.8 7028 Sandwich Ex 21 h   25° C. 14.5 7385 32% 3.50 Sandwich Comp Ex 2 1 h   25° C. 5.0 25464% >10 % <10 mm refers to the amount of dough that goes through the 10mm sieve. It is calculated as follows: % 10 mm = 100 − % dough mass on10 mm sieve. % <2 mm refers to the amount of dough that goes through the2 mm sieve. This amount can simply be measured and the % determined.

Unless otherwise stated, the percentage values recited herein are byweight and, where appropriate, by weight of the final biscuit.

Although preferred embodiments of the disclosure have been describedherein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvariations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of thedisclosure or of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A dough for producing a biscuit having aslowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio of at least31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to 22 wt %fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight of thebiscuit, the dough comprising: cereal flour, fat, sugar and added water;and wherein the added water is in an amount of at most 8 wt % relativeto the weight of dough.
 2. The dough according to claim 1, wherein theadded water is in an amount of from 3 to 7 wt % relative to the weightof dough.
 3. The dough according to claim 1, having a pre-baking densityof from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³.
 4. The dough according to claim 1, wherein thecereal flour comprises a refined cereal flour with a water absorptionunder 55% as measured by Brabender® Farinograph® and, preferably, therefined cereal flour forms at least 14.5 wt % of the biscuit.
 5. Thedough according to claim 1, wherein the cereal flour comprises wheatflour, preferably selected from one or more of soft wheat flour, wheatflour with low damaged starch and thermally treated wheat flour, andcombinations of two or more thereof.
 6. The dough according to claim 1,wherein the cereal flour comprises wholegrain cereal flour, preferablyat least two different types of wholegrain cereal flour.
 7. The doughaccording to claim 6, wherein the wholegrain cereal flour is in anamount of at least 29 wt % of the biscuit.
 8. The dough according toclaim 1 for forming a biscuit comprising at most 19 wt % wholegraincereal flakes by weight of the biscuit.
 9. The dough according to claim1, wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that at least20 wt %, preferably at least 30 wt %, of the dough passes through avibrating sieve mesh of 10 mm.
 10. The dough according to claim 1,wherein the dough has a particle size distribution such that at least 8wt % of the dough passes through a vibrating sieve mesh of 2 mm.
 11. Thedough according to claim 1, wherein the dough has a particle sizedistribution such that the D10 of the dough mass distribution is at most6 mm.
 12. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the dough requires apressure of at least 5000 kg/m² to compress the dough to a density of1.22 g/cm³.
 13. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the pressurerequired to compress the dough to a density of 1.22 g/cm³ is from 6500to 30000 kg/m².
 14. The dough according to claim 1, wherein the doughcomprises at least about 29 wt % cereal flour, about 4 to about 20 wt %fat and at most about 27 wt % sugar.
 15. A method for forming a biscuithaving a slowly-digestible-starch-over-total-available-starch ratio ofat least 31%, the biscuit comprising at least 29 wt % cereal flour, 5 to22 wt % fat and at most 30 wt % sugar relative to the total weight ofthe biscuit, the method comprising: providing the dough according toclaim 1; moulding the dough into the shape of the biscuit; and bakingthe biscuit.
 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step ofmoulding the dough involves compressing the dough to a pre-bakingdensity of from 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³.
 17. The method according to claim 15,wherein the baking is: (i) conducted for a time of from 4 to 12 minutes;and/or (ii) conducted so that the temperature within the biscuit doesnot exceed 110° C., preferably less than 100° C., within the first 2minutes of baking.
 18. The method according to claim 15, wherein thedough is mixed in a multi-step process and wherein: the ingredients,excluding the added water, cereal flour and wholegrain cereal flakes, ifpresent, are mixed together, then the added water is added; then thecereal flour is added; then the wholegrain cereal flakes, if present,are added.
 19. The method according to claim 15, wherein the step ofmoulding is a step of rotary moulding.
 20. The method according to claim19, wherein the rotary moulding is performed with a rotary mouldercomprising: (i) a moulding cylinder and a grooved cylinder for shapingthe dough into the biscuits, the moulding cylinder receiving the doughand the grooved cylinder with grooves of 5 to 15 mm, preferably 10 mm,pressing the dough in the moulding cylinder; and, optionally (ii) ahopper as a funnel for feeding the moulding and grooved cylinders;and/or (iii) a demoulding belt for demoulding the biscuits, optionallyfurther comprising a humidification system; wherein the difference ofspeed between the grooved cylinder and the moulding cylinder ispreferably maintained under 10%.
 21. The method according to claim 15,wherein the method further comprises a step of forming a layered cookieby providing the biscuit with a filling part and, optionally, at leastone further biscuit part.
 22. The method according to claim 21, whereinthe layered cookie contains 10 wt % to 25 wt % fat and 15 wt % to 40 wt% sugar relative to the total weight of the layered cookie.
 23. Abiscuit or filled cookie obtainable by the method of claim
 15. 24. Thebiscuit or filled cookie according to claim 23, wherein the biscuit hasa slowly available glucose value of at least 15.0 g/100 g, preferably16.5 g/100 g and more preferably at least 18.0 g/100 g, and ever morepreferably at least 21.0 g/100 g.